Vladimir Putin got what he wanted by anchoring Ukraine to Russia and pushing the European Union back from his borders. The cost is yet to be tallied. The Russian leader is lending $15 billion to a junk-rated borrower and offering a 33 percent gas-price cut on a gamble that Ukraine will become a permanent ally and President Viktor Yanukovych will hold off a surging protest movement in the 2015 election.
The prize is a crucial step in his crusade to halt what he sees as the West’s relentless encroachment on Russian interests since the end of the Cold War...............................................Full Article: Source